This disc contains Byzantine ecclesiastical hymns of Holy and Great Lent chanted according to the Patriarchal tradition of the Orthodox Church. They are chanted by Apostolos Combitsis, Protopsaltis ("First-cantor") of St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Toms River, New Jersey, in America. The hymns are from the services of the Great Compline, the Lenten Vespers of Sunday, the Presanctified Divine Liturgy and the Service of the Akathist Hymn, as well as of the Sunday Matins of Lent.

Holy and Great Lent, the forty-day period of preparation for Holy Week and Pascha (Easter), teaches humility, repentance and forgiveness. The rich hymns of the Orthodox Church perfectly teach and express these elements with her hymns, which are, on the one hand, didactic texts of the dogmatic theology of the Church, and on the other hand, poetic and musical masterpieces. We hope that you find them spiritually uplifting as you experience the "joyful sadness" of Great Lent in anticipation of the Resurrection.